what i’m eating | i am SO late to this trend, but i have discovered soup dumplings and i am for the better for it. they are the perfect food to eat when i’m lounging in my apartment and watching movies, trying to hide out from the cold. you can find them at many places in the city, but my favorite is at real kung fu little steamed buns ramen. it’s a mouthful, but it is OH, SO delicious.

what i’m reading| i am hoping to get this book for christmas, since “the gilded age in new york, 1870 – 1910” by esther crain seems like it will be an amazing read. it was voted a must-read of 2016, and as someone who loves both history and new york, this seems like the right choice for me.

what i’m wearing | let me tell you… if you need a ridiculous comfy and warm pair of winter socks, the camp socks by j.crew are the choice for you. they are great with a pair of short boots, but at the same time, i love wearing them around my apartment to keep my feet warm. for me, $16 has never been so well-spent.

what i’m wanting | since i travel for work quite a bit and my current carry-on luggage is looking worse for wear, i’ve been on the hunt for a new suitcase. i’ve been seeing some blogs covering away, so i decided to check it out. i am officially obsessed with these suitcases due to their design, space, and charging capabilities. i also tried out a new lip gloss the other day by smith & cult and i have become a new fan. the color shown above is called life in photographs and is absolutely beautiful. both these bad boy are in my shopping cart, so soon i’ll be making the push to purchase them.

what i’m decorating with | if you had asked me in the last couple of years if i felt the need to have fresh flowers in my apartment, i would have said no. however, since i have discovered bouqs, it is one of my new favorite websites/services. this is not an an in anyway, but i wanted to share because it is a sustainable flower delivery program that has an assortment of absolutely beautiful bouquets for very reasonable prices. check it out for yourself and see!

what i’m listening to | i am without a doubt listening to christmas music on a consistent basis, but i also happen to love dance music, among many other genres. if you need a new song to get hooked on, this one is for you.

my favorite weather can be classified as easily as cold weather; this could mean a rainy, blustery day, or a day where the air is crisp and turning leaves are being stirred by whispering winds, or a day where the first flurry starts to fall. these different scenarios are the reason why i love the cold, and what makes new york during the fall oh so magical. if you were to ask me my favorite season, the decision between winter and fall is tough, but i’ve finally figured it out… i will say my favorite season is fall, but my favorite short and fleeting period of time is during christmas in new york. if you want to see real magic, i highly recommend visiting during this time of year.

however, instead of getting sidetracked, let’s get back to fall. you’ll find me bundled up in a flannel or a sweater coat, with a chai in hand and a book in my lap… throw in a new show on tv and we’re good to go. (speaking of new shows, i highly recommend “good girls revolt” on amazon; i got through it in three days and it’s an easy to show to breeze through.) now it’s easy to stay cozy and warm indoors, but let’s not forget the walks to central park or along the high line, where the changing trees make up for the swarms of tourists new yorkers try to bypass. visits to the farmer markets on tiny side streets or grabbing some pumpkin treats at my favorite bakery is what makes this time of year one of my favorites. so november, i’m ready for you, in all the glory that you bring and all the beauty you bring to the city.

do you know that feeling you had when you were little when you got caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing? the nervousness that came with worrying you were about to get in trouble. that happened to me all the time when it came to reading… i kid you not, i used to get in trouble (which my parents later admitted they couldn’t really be mad at me about) for reading way past my bed time. i’m taking flashlight under the covers, turning it off when i thought i heard footsteps, and overheating from having all my blankets over my head. so dramatic retelling aside, books are important to me. all the books above (except for “me before you” and “an ember in the ashes”) are on my to-read list and i can’t wait to dive into them, as cheesy as it sounds. the books i have read up above i highly recommend and suggest you get on reading those… one is a serious tearjerker (you’ve been warned) and the other is the definition of a page-turner. i’ll probably find an additional five more books i want to read, but good thing i can keep adding to my ever-growing list.

surprise, surprise… another month has come and gone. i feel like just yesterday i was writing a post about december and here we are ushering in february. luckily for me, i love february, which means new ~tasteful~ heart decor will be decorating my place. there are a few things on my list for the month: exploring brooklyn by way of walking the brooklyn bridge, taking a trip out to the beach, planning a trip with my friends from home, reading as much as possible, and talking about more beauty-related things on here. i mean if february isn’t the month of romantic eyes and alluring lips then i don’t know what is… stay tuned for those kinds of posts, because i promise they are coming!

the one thing that i really miss about school is marketing classes and my constant surveillance of adweek… yeah, my adweek obsession was real (still is, but i don’t check as often). in a lot of my classes we would discuss recently released spots that had that special “it” factor; usually this was something that involved striking the perfect emotional note. this spec ad is an example of finding that equilibrium in a minute or two. done by two film students (who are talented beyond belief), this commercial is especially poignant during this time of year. it’s a time where we find ourselves remembering those who are no longer with us, but whose memory, influence, and love will always remain. i think it’s especially important to take a break from all the craziness that happens around this time and remember exactly what and who matters most. it’s kind of crazy that a commercial for whiskey could have you thinking this way, but trust me… watch and you’ll understand.